


Crossing Paths

by leousama (orphan_account)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Fusion, Arranged Marriage, Blood and Violence, M/M, Magic, Minor Injuries, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Homophobia, Rinniki Nation, Serious Injuries, Swordfighting, Swords & Sorcery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:21:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24541498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/leousama
Summary: It had been four years, since Amagi Hiiro's elder brother, the heir to throne, had run away. Finally, Hiiro had found a hint as to where he had been.The hint was bloodier than he ever wished.Discontinued. I am sorry.
Relationships: Amagi Rinne/Shiina Niki, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WOAH WOAH OKAY SO HELLO GUYS!! This is gonna be my second multiple chapter fic, and I'm excited!  
> Btw, you don't really need any prior knowledge on fire emblem, other than the fact that it's set in medieval times and mostly involves war
> 
> The entire world in this fic, is entirely based on my home country, which is Switzerland! Mostly, he names of the cities etc are just the names of said cities in Greek or Latin.
> 
> Basically, Hiiro and his guild start out in Genevi (Geneva), which is all the way in the West, whereas Rinne and his guild start out in Vazo (Chur), which is in the East!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!!

_Another slash. Another life taken away._

_Once again, the sound of metal swords crashing against each other._

_More blood dripping down onto the already dirtied ground near Genevi._

_His lungs were burning, as he ran as fast as he could, feet already drenched. The stench of blood, dirt, sweat, and metal filling his nose._

_Blood dripped from his own wounds, seeping through his rugged, torn up clothes. Multiple gushes, cutting open his blood vessels, destroying him._

_Still, he ran faster._

_Finally, he reached out a hand, extending it as far as possible._

_“N-nii-chan…”_

_He fell onto the ground, scraping open his knees on the ground._

_“D-don’t leave…”_

_His hand couldn’t reach him, it never could. All he ever saw, was his back._

_Slowly, he walked away, not looking back at him._

_“Sorry, Hiiro.”_

_A sound, akin to a sob choked him up._

_“It’s for ya own good.”_

He was torn out of his sleep, breathing heavily, in a cold sweat.

As always, the same, reoccurring nightmare of that one night, his brother left him. It had been 4 years since then.

No letter, no visit, no nothing. _He was gone for good._

For all Hiiro knew, he might even be dead. The next heir to the throne of Helvetia. Dead.

He still didn’t know, just why his brother had left him. And frankly, Hiiro didn’t like thinking about it.

_“He was fed up with you”,_ a little voice in his head told him. Time and time again, that voice just wouldn’t shut up.

Still, he tried to stay optimistic. Rinne had said, that it was for his own good, right?

On slightly shaky legs, he made his way out of his bed. Oh, how much he hated this palace, ever since his brother had left.

_I wanna be free, just like him_

Very often, he found him thinking about leaving as well, going out, chasing down his brother. _Finally finding him again._

He couldn’t just up and leave. He had an entire damn kingdom on his back. _But what if?_

Absentmindedly, he made his way down the hall and into the dining room. Entirely lost in thought and unaware of his surroundings.

_Crash._

He knocked into someone and fell onto the floor, wincing slightly.

“Ah, my apologies milord. I have important news for you.”

Looking up, he saw his adviser, Tatsumi Kazehaya, reaching his hand out to help him up. He just stared at the hands.

Finally, he grabbed it.

_It’s… softer than Nii-chan’s hand… The one I wasn’t able to reach_

_The one I will never be able to reach._

He let himself be pulled up by his senior, who wore a concerned look.

“I’m alright.”, was all Hiiro answered. “It’s just… I had another nightmare.”

“Ah, I see… Well, as said, I have some important news.”

Now Hiiro was curious. Important news? He had no idea, what that could entail.

“Go on, Tatsumi-san.”

Tatsumi’s eyes flitted around nervously, before he grabbed him by the wrist, and dragged him along into one of the many rooms of the Kokusairenmei palace.

“Our observers… they found your brother.”

His eyes went wide. The person he’d been searching for, for the past 4 years. They knew exactly where he was.

“Really? We have to move out right no-!”

“We can’t.”

“I’ve been searching him for the past 4 years and now I’m not allowed to go out and find him?!”

Tatsumi sighed. “He… he went down a dark path. Our observers spotted him with a guild of bandits, causing uproar in the east, near Vazo.”

“An uproar? What do you mean…?”

“I am not entirely sure what happened. Our observers just saw Rinne and the rest of his guild in a big fight in the middle of the town. It was… very bloody. We cannot tell, how many people lost their lives.”

Hiiro was angry, sad, upset. Finally, his brother had been found. After all these years… But now he was a criminal?

“I-I have to find him, Tatsumi-san.”

All Tatsumi did, was shake his head, a sorrowful look in his eyes. “You can’t… The rest of his guild are rumoured to be very dangerous.”

“I need to find him. I want to ask him something.”

The door opened suddenly, another person coming in, panting loudly. Turning his head, his eyes met the green ones of none other than his childhood friend and retainer Aira Shiratori.

“I have found out more about the guild.”, he panted out, carrying a bunch of documents. Hiiro raised an eyebrow at him.

“Rinne founded a guild with three other members and they call themselves the crazy bees! So, we have Kohaku, who is rumoured to be a trained assassin, Niki, who is rumoured to… c-cook and eat people-“

He stopped, gagging a little, as he took a deep breath to continue speaking. Neither Tatsumi nor Hiiro reacted, to shocked to say anything.

“A-and then there’s an unknown guy, who goes by the name Himeru. We don’t know what he’s capable of…”

Shocked silence filled the room. No one really knew, how to react to all the information.

Hiiro closed his eyes, composing himself. So, his big brother, whom he looked up to all his life, had become a dangerous criminal, who was working with those kinds of people?

_For the first time in his life, Hiiro stayed completely quiet._

The first to break the silence, was Tatsumi.

“I-I see… Do you have any more information?”

Aira gulped loudly, audible to the entire room.

“There is… one more thing…”

Suddenly, he seemed embarrassed, as Hiiro opened his eyes and teal met green once again.

“One more thing?”, Hiiro asked curiously, not knowing what this “thing” could be.

“Rinne seems… suspiciously close, to a member of his guild. They were caught… well…”, Aira averted his eyes, blushing for whatever reason.

Hiiro’s eyes lit up. “Oh, so he found a friend?”

Aira sighed. “You’re a complete idiot, Hiro-kun!”

“I’m not an idiot!”

“You are!”

Whilst they bickered back and forth, Tatsumi interjected. “Now, now, calm down. If you don’t, you won’t get sent to heaven.”

They both stepped back, looking up at Tatsumi, who, for some reason, had a nostalgic, slightly jealous look in his eyes. Like he wanted to take something from them, which he didn’t have.

“What Aira means is… that they are presumably more than friends. Partners, I’d say. It’s dangerous for them.”

Tatsumi had a strange, faraway look in his eyes. Filled with nostalgia, pain, regret and something he couldn’t quite decipher.

“Huh? But aren’t they both men?”

Nodding, the taller man once again gave an answer: “That’s what I meant with “dangerous”. If they find out, they could legally behead both of them. But as Aira mentioned, it is only a rumour. If it turns out to be true, they will both be sent to hell prematurely.”

His jaw went slack, as he stared up at Tatsumi. “T-they are allowed to kill Nii-chan for something like that…?”

“Of course. Men aren’t supposed to with men and women are also not supposed to be with women. That’s what the bible says.”

Aira gave him the nastiest glare.

“I-I see…”

Still, Hiiro felt wronged. That wasn’t right. _I have to protect him somehow_

“We have to find him, Tatsumi-san. Please.”

This time, it was Aira’s turn to interject.

“Didn’t you listen to me, Hiro-kun? He’s with dangerous people!”

“I don’t care.”

Hiiro was determined, his voice grounded and loud.

“I’m going out to find Nii-chan, and you can join me, if you want.”

The entire room was practically crackling with tension. Aira still glaring at Tatsumi, who had this weird, faraway look in his eyes.

Tatsumi once again, gave him and Aira an envious look.

“I don’t really have much of a choice, I am your adviser after all, milord.”

“Yeah, I’ll be joining as well, I guess…”

_We have to find him as soon as possible. Before everything escalates_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in such a long time!!! But well I'm super super happy with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!

The sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath, clang throughout the entire market space. All the civilians stopped in their tracks, due to the terrifying sound. The sound of war.

Boisterous laughter followed the sound, all people frozen in place, except for four people. Four young men, that didn’t belong here.

Except for one of them. They recognised him, everyone did. The runaway prince, Rinne Amagi.

But he had changed, he wasn’t the same ever since… _then._ Desperately, they tried to get him back. Chasing him, hunting him down, like prey. The entire country, they searched. But every time, they came closer, he somehow got away. Still, he was caught in a constant game of hide-and-seek, his plans for revolution destroyed, if they just as much as spotted him. If he got caught, he would be forced back into the royal lifestyle, full of limits, boundaries, restriction. No more running through the country, causing a ruckus everywhere he went.

No longer, could he live the way he wanted. No more, could he be with the person he loved.

The people in the crowd, scrambled away, wanting the report the sight of _him._ He had been spotted once again, and once again; they didn’t want him to get away from them.

He was the prince. He belonged on the throne. Not his little brother, him, only him.

But he had been corrupted. Corrupted by that disgusting, vile _beast_ of a man, named Niki Shiina. He had run away, abandoned his family, his people just for _him._

No one knew, the whereabouts and why he had run away. It had something to do with that monster, that beast. That _monster_ , that had been caught with other men. That _beast_ , that was rumoured to be a cannibal.

But little did they know, Rinne had him own reasonings, was also kind of the same. Despite doing what he did, acting like he does, he cared. He cared for his people, wanted justice, wanted a revolution.

Never did he agree with what the religion said, what it said in the book. That women must like men. He always disagreed with that because he one of them. Rumours had already started spreading, and they already wanted Niki _dead._

Now one may think “but didn’t Rinne get corrupted?”

That is exactly, what the public thought, that he got abducted, taken away against his will, forced to join the guild.

All Rinne wanted was freedom and change. To be free from the confines of the castle walls, to be free from whatever it said in the religious texts, to be free to do as he pleases.

And change; change in the way people think, conceived certain people.

He also was scared, scared of rejection, scared of what they may think of him.

He also wanted freedom for his brother. In fact, he left _for_ his brother. Ashamed and confused of his own feelings he developed for the boy in the village.

He didn’t want his brother to get hurt, to be “corrupted” just like him.

* * *

Rinne had never been a very well-behaved child. Always, very rebellious, and mischievous. Still, he was very smart, the first inline to become to next heir to the throne.

He was raised to become king. He wasn’t loved for who he was, but for who he was going to be.

Because he was going to become king, he needed a wife, children, the next heir to the throne. Girl, after girl, after girl had been introduced to him and never did he show any interest in either one of them. He was confused by his parents’ constant lectures, by their yelling, by their nagging.

Simply, he didn’t see the appeal in anyone of the girls introduced to him. He was convinced, that he just hadn’t found the right girl yet.

He avoided the judgemental looks by the knights, cooks and servants alike. Feeling like something was utterly _wrong_ with him.

At only 16 years old, he found out what exactly wasn’t right with him. After _another_ fight with his father, about him having to find a wife as soon as possible, he grabbed his usual disguise and left the castle, going into the village down below.

The disguise being nothing more than a cape with a hood to hide is bright-red hair and conceal his face. It was late at night, when he went out, not many people out there to hide from anyway.

Not many people to see him cry.

As always, he sat near the pond, right at the edge, leaning over to catch his own reflection in the water. Teardrops of confusion and hurt rolling down his cheeks, falling into the water until he was openly sobbing. The pressure on him too much.

How he wished he could just be a regular boy, not being tied to duty, not being forced to already get married. He just wanted to be _free._

“Are you alright?”

Startled, Rinne almost fell into the pond, as he snapped up. A few stray tears falling down, as he forced himself to stop crying.

Due to the movement, his hood had fallen down, revealing his hair and face.

But right now, he didn’t care. Time seemed to have stopped, as he was facing the young boy, sitting across from him, giving him a curious look.

The grey-haired boy looked worried, frowning, as he studied Rinne’s face.

“I-I’m okay…”, was all he choked out, unusually quiet, meek. He was embarrassed, due to being caught in this fragile state, his usual confident and loud personality has been completely pushed back.

Ignoring his answer, the boy just pushed further. “Did something happen…? I heard you crying…”

Rinne looked away, completely mortified. He never cried in front of people, and now some complete stranger had caught him bawling his eyes out.

“Jus’ some family problems, I guess…”, he answered truthfully, barely above his breath.

The other boys’ blue eyes seemed to be glowing, as Rinne turned his head back, to look him in the eye. He looked curious, innocent even, as he stared at Rinne, who stared back.

“Family problems, huh? Yeah, I know that… I’ve been thinking about running away from home, y’know? My family doesn’t like me, no one really does…”

The redhead just nodded, not knowing exactly how to answer to the others confession.

“I’m Niki Shiina, by the way! Nice to meet you! What’s your name?”

He averted his eyes, looking down at his own reflection in the pond.

“Rinne Amagi, the prince of Helvetia…”

Silence stretched across them, as Rinne watched Niki’s eyes go wide through his reflection in the pond.

“T-the prince…? Shouldn’t you be in the castle?”

Rinne could barely hear him above the heart pounding in his chest. The other boy was sitting so close to him now, that their thigs were touching, too close.

“I should, but…”

Biting his lip, he forced his voice not to waver.

“I don’t like it there, I’d rather jus’ be livin’ out here, like an ordinary boy. They’re forcin’ me to get married to a girl soon, but I’m jus’ not… I’m not interested in girls… Somethin’ is wrong with me.”

He felt the others hand on top of his, just holding it. He didn’t answer, didn’t say a word.

But somehow, Rinne knew exactly what he was trying to say.

For a while, they just sat there in silence, listening to the cicadas, and letting the fireflies light up the gradually darkening world.

The comfortable atmosphere was destroyed by a mob of people gradually coming closer, torches with them. They were looking for him.

He reluctantly let go of the others hand, making a silent promise to meet up with him again. As fast as he could, he took the route through the woods to run up towards the castle, sneaking back into his room.

Of course, he couldn’t just be in his room by himself for more than five minutes, before his father barged in, absolutely fuming.

“We have found a wife for you, you’re going to get married soon, whether you like it or not.”

Oh, now he was mad. Upset even.

“What gives you the damn right, to rule over my life?!”, he yelled, not really considering the consequences of his words.

His father grabs him by the collar, pulling him upwards.

“You have had long enough to decide, son, but you were never happy with any of the young maidens we presented to you! We got the most beautiful, most expensive maidens and you were never happy! So, we just decided for you.”

He ripped his fathers hands off his collar, looking like a feral animal.

“Have ya ever freakin’ considered the fact, that I don’t like girls?!”

He dropped the politeness, said exactly what he shouldn’t have said and almost immediately regretted it.

And his father went mental, screaming, and yelling things, his ears wouldn’t register. His eyes filled his burning hot tears of shame, anger, and rejection.

Pushing past his father, he left once again and this time he didn’t plan on coming back.

But, as always, things didn’t go as he wanted, as his little brothers personal adviser slammed the door open.

“They are trying to assassinate young lord Hiiro.”, he yelled, out of breath, his usual mature façade now panicked.

“They started attacking innocent civilians, including children. We must move out immediately. I-it’s reported that everyone in the village is at danger.”

Completely paralysed, he realised that Niki, the boy he had just met, was in danger. His father had already started leaving, as he turned around and glared at him.

“This conversation is not over, young prince.”

He glared back, already getting to grab his sword as he pushed past his father, started to move out.

“Rinne-sama, you must wait for the military troupes to get ready!”

He didn’t care one bit about that. He had to protect the other boy and his brother. So, he acted out of his own volition.

Running through the woods, towards the village as fast as he could, that’s where he saw it. A bloody fight had started.

Once again, they were trying to assassinate Hiiro, for something he couldn’t help.

Stepping out of the woods, he looked around, desperately trying to locate Niki, to check if he’s safe. And right there he was, looking absolutely terrified, as he tried to defend himself. His brother was nowhere to be seen.

He was absolutely fuming. _How dare they attack someone innocent_

And then he charged into battle. With a loud battle cry, he ran head-on into the two soldiers attacking Niki, ultimately having to fight two grown men.

“R-rinne…?”

Rinne didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, as he fought as the two soldiers. Metal clashed against metal, as he fended off blows and delivered some as well.

_Slash_

He managed to cut through the leather of the other war uniform, cutting into skin, breaking it, blood soaking into the leather. Another push of the sword, and it was buried inside his stomach.

Ever so slowly, he pulled it out, blood splattering and the sword dripping with blood. The other soldier had already run away, leaving Niki and Rinne alone.

With his clean hand, he grabbed Niki by the wrist, running into the woods with him.

“Hide here, I’ll come right back for ya…”

Too shocked and terrified to say anything else, he just nodded.

Rinne charged right back into battle, the smell of blood and sweat sticking to him, as he slashed down enemies left and right, still looking for his brother.

And finally, there his brother was.

But he couldn’t face him now, could just leave. He had to leave now, too scared to face his father, too scared that he may ruin his brothers life as well.

Turning his back on his brother, he left ever so slowly.

_“Sorry Hiiro, it’s for ya own good.”_

With that, he abandoned his old life, now building up a life with the outcast Niki Shiina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways. I probably won't be uploading that much in the next four weeks, cause some shit happened and I'm also going away for two weeks, I apologise!!
> 
> Love, Zion~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back after another whole month hehe sorry guys! Anyways, this chapter is a bit shorter than others, but a lot happens so!!

A strong hand gripped his wrist and tore him through the forest, as he tried his best to keep up with the pace of his new friend.

“R-rinne…! What are you doing?! Let go!”

Stopping in his tracks, the other turned towards him, smudges of blood and tear tracks in his face.

Dropping his wrist, he wiped away some of the blood from his busted lip.

“I’m running away from the castle and you’re joinin’ me.”

That was definitely _not_ what Niki had expected.

“I-I’m joining you…? When did I ever say that?!”

“I jus’ decided~”

Niki had never been taught to say no, and he didn’t particularly want to. He just sighed, and grabbed the others hand.

“When ya say so~”

And so, their journey began.

* * *

“Do you have everything packed together milord?”

Startled out of his thoughts by Tatsumi’s voice, he turned around.

“Yes! I’m ready to go!”

As they made their way down the hall, Tatsumi once again interrupted the silence.

“I think I know who Niki is.”

Stopping in his tracks, Hiiro just stared at him.

“From where Tatsumi-san?”

Tatsumi once again had the same sorrowful look in his eyes.

“I know Himeru as well actually. But about Niki… Do you recall the night where your brother, lord Rinne, left?”

Hiiro nodded slowly, beckoning him to continue, not quite knowing where this conversation was leading to.

“Well, Niki-san was right there as well. Did you see the boy with long grey hair?”

Hiiro hadn’t seen him.

_So, he had taken his brother away from him_

“So, is it his fault Nii-san’s gone?”

“I can’t say for sure, milord. Also, about Himeru…”, Tatsumi’s voice trailed off by the end of the sentence.

Hiiro tilted his head to the side, giving him a confused look.

The other shook his head.

“It isn’t relevant right now, apologies for bringing it up.”

He continued walking through the hallway, towards the door which would eventually lead out into the wild.

_Tatsumi-san is stranger than I thought_

Riding his horse out of the stables for the first time ever since his brother left, had him experience a wave of nostalgia.

**“Onii-chan, wait!”**

**A chuckle.**

**“Can’t keep up, Hiiro~?**

**A whine.**

**“You’re no fair, Nii-san, you’re older and better at horse riding than me!”**

**A sigh, and he slowed down to a trot.**

**_Almost every day, they went out into the forest, down to the lake_ **

“Hiro-kun? Hiro-kun!!”

Snapping out of his trance, he faced Aira.

“What is it, Aira?”

“Are you alright, Hiro-kun?”

He nodded eagerly. “Yes, of course! Let’s leave!”

Aira didn’t answer, Hiiro had never been a good liar.

And so, they rode off into the East.

The ride seemed to be going smoothly enough, as they galloped down the side of the lake through the forest, the soft splashing and the singing of the birds made them let down their guard. Made them think it was just a completely peaceful day, like they weren’t about to hunt down a guild of criminals.

Generally, Hiiro never had been allowed to leave the palace, for reasons not even he knew. For some unknown reason, people were always out to get him. The only times he had left the palace, was when Rinne snuck out with him, which ultimately caused father to yell at his older brother. Something about “your little brother could get killed”.

Still, no one ever told him _why_ everyone was after him.

Ever since his brother had run away, he never left the palace. He had completely forgot how to put his own guard up, now an open target.

Well, of course something was bound to happen.

Time seemed to slow down, as he felt the weight of someone push him off his horse. Falling to the ground, the wind had been completely knocked out his lungs, he screwed his eyes shut in pain.

The sound of an arrow shooting through the air and into a tree behind him. _Right where his head had been._

“Aira-san? Milord? Are you two alright?”

Their voices became muffled, the ringing in his ears drowning them out. His head was throbbing from the impact on the floor, as he gasped for air.

“Tatsumi-san…! T-the arrow…”

“I know… Is anyone hurt?”

Aira bit his lip. “I think Hiro-kun hit his head…”

Laying the others head in his lap, he looked down at him. He had passed out.

Absentmindedly, he ran his fingers through the others hair, the hand eventually being dyed red with blood.

Tatsumi just stood there, staring at him. “What are you doing, Aira-san? Don’t tell me…”

The blonde dismissed the question and stared at his hand.

“T-tatsumi-san, we need to stop the bleeding…”

The older covered his mouth in a horrified gasp, at the realisation that Hiiro’s horse had run away, with _all_ the stuff against injuries and illness.

“We have a problem, Aira-san…”

“What’s the matter, Tatsumi-san?”, Aira’s voice had started shaking just as much as his hand had.

“The horse with all the medication…”

He gulped, the tears finally escaping from his eyes.

“Can we take him to next village, Tatsumi-san?”

“We can try… I’m not entirely sure, how far away it is, though.”

The younger male nodded.

“How will we bring Hiro-kun there?”

Tatsumi had already started to lay him onto his horse, across the saddle. Aira watched him intently.

Without a word, they both started walking, the tension very obviously there. The sun had already started to set, and the birds had stopped singing, the rustling in the bushes was now less frequent.

It was warm out, in the summer night and Aira could feel someone watching them. Eyes directly trained onto them.

He stopped.

“Tatsumi-san, can you feel that?”, he whispered. The other closed his eyes. He seemed to be glowing.

“Someone is here…”

The rustling seemed to get louder, seemed to come closer. They both instinctively moved their bodies to shield Hiiro from both sides.

Teal eyes, which seemed to glow in the dark, were staring at them, like some wild animal.

“Move back, Aira-san, it might be dangerous.”

Aira obliged, still shielding Hiiro with his body, his life, as Tatsumi went closer to the unknown creature in the thicket.

Fear was present in its eyes, but due to Tatsumi’s soothing presence, it didn’t try to run off.

Slowly extending his hand, the green-haired man cautiously touched the creature.

“A human?”

They flinched back, fleeing.

Tatsumi ran after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will (hopefully) update this every sunday from now on :)
> 
> Have a nice day, guys!!
> 
> Love, Zion~

**Author's Note:**

> Oooh okay, I actually worked relatively hard on this and I'm aware that this is very different from my usual content
> 
> I hope you enjoy it anyways!
> 
> And also, I now go by the name Zion, for personal reasons. I hope you understand!
> 
> Honourable mention to [Rea](https://twitter.com/morisawaz) for helping me out and providing me with amazing ideas for this AU!! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated
> 
> Love, Zion~
> 
> Edit, 25.11.2020:
> 
> As of today, I will orphan all of my works, since I do not wish to be associated with Rinniki anymore. Thanks for understanding.


End file.
